wellness

C2+ Topic:Health & Medicine

US /ˈwɛl.nəs/ UK /ˈwel.nəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
the state of being in good health, especially as actively pursued

The retreat focused on physical and mental wellness.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the state of being in good... health fitness wellbeing soundness vigor healthiness

Opposites

illness sicknessunwellnessinfirmity disease

Word family

Related forms well

Etymology

From well (adverb/adjective, 'in good health') + the noun-forming suffix -ness, from Old English wel ('well') and -nes. The modern health-movement sense dates from the mid-20th century.

wel Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Health & Medicine Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# wellness

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈwɛl.nəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈwel.nəs/

## Meanings
1. the state of being in good health, especially as actively pursued

## Examples
- The retreat focused on physical and mental wellness.

## Synonyms
- health
- fitness
- wellbeing
- soundness
- vigor
- healthiness

## Antonyms
- illness
- sickness
- unwellness
- infirmity
- disease

## Related Forms
- well

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: wel

## Etymology
From well (adverb/adjective, 'in good health') + the noun-forming suffix -ness, from Old English wel ('well') and -nes. The modern health-movement sense dates from the mid-20th century.

## AI Etymology
Wellness comes from well (adverb/adjective, 'in good health') + the noun-forming suffix -ness, from Old English wel ('well') and -nes. The modern health-movement sense dates from the mid-20th century. In current use it is a noun meaning "the state of being in good health, especially as actively pursued". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The suffix -ness turns a quality into a noun of state, condition, or degree. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. A central historical form is Old English wel. Related English forms include well. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- Health & Medicine
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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